A new initiative effort to end anonymous donations to political candidates in 蜜柚直播 is intriguing 鈥 it raises the simultaneous issues of the First Amendment, privacy and the people鈥檚 right to know who is financially supports candidates running for elected office.
Organizers filed paperwork this week to begin gathering petition signatures. They need 225,963 valid signatures by July 5 to get the initiative, dubbed Outlaw Dirty Money, on the ballot statewide in the November general election.
Former 蜜柚直播 Attorney General Terry Goddard is spearheading the push. He ran for Secretary of State in 2014 on a campaign to eliminate 鈥渄ark money鈥 鈥 donations from unidentified sources 鈥 but lost to Michele Reagan.
While we are far from weighing in on this particular proposal 鈥 it鈥檚 too early to know if it will be on the ballot 鈥 its essential questions merit conversation.
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Does a person鈥檚 desire to give money to a political campaign without being publicly identified outweigh the benefit of the public knowing who is donating to specific candidates?
Gov. Doug Ducey, in a recent news story by Capitol Media Services, weighed in on the side of anonymity. 鈥淚 think people have a First Amendment right as well to participate and not be bullied.鈥
We agree that every person should have the ability to voice their opinions without being bullied or harassed 鈥 those are matters for law enforcement. Freedom of speech does not guarantee a positive response to our expression, only our right to speak our minds.
Using the fear of a potential negative response as a reason to keep donors鈥 identities secret skews the equation.
The analogy isn鈥檛 perfect, but it鈥檚 like saying the only way to keep from being burglarized is to not keep anything in your home.
The initiative would require that all 鈥渙riginal sources鈥 of donations be identified, and is geared specifically at those who contribute more than $10,000 in any two-year election cycle.
It鈥檚 also aimed at donations made through organizations that collect smaller amounts from individual donors and then packages them into a larger donation under the organization鈥檚 name. This allows individuals to remain unknown.
Ducey has benefitted from these kind of donations, to the tune of $8.2 million from outside groups in his 2014 campaign for governor. The Democratic candidate, Fred DuVal, received $2.4 million from outside funders.
It is essential for voters to know who funds candidates and campaigns. It is essential for our democracy and to hold our elected officials accountable.
